The Philippines’ president-elect Rodrigo Duterte has described the Catholic Church as the country’s “most hypocritical institution” and says he is ready to take on senior Filipino bishops in a debate about their wrongdoings before he takes office next month.

Key points:

Duterte questions relevance of Catholic Church

About 80 per cent of Philippines population are Catholic

Duterte says church asks favours of him

The tough-talking 71-year-old has yet to be proclaimed the May 9 poll winner, but an unofficial vote count by an election commission-accredited watchdog showed a huge lead over his rivals, three of whom conceded defeat. He is due to take office on June 30. Continue reading…